Ask HN: What Is Tech For?

Technology is machinery (sometimes virtual) which makes a task easier than the alternative. It's used for whatever the owner decides it to be:

It can be used for improving life e.g.; Electricity, Engines, Mechanisation of Agriculture, The Internet, Sanitation.

It can also be used for controlling life e.g.; Propaganda, Mechanisation of War, Internet Addiction.

"If you can't control the technology, then it's controlling you" - Open Source Enthusiast

If tech can be generalized to "tool", tech is the defining feature of humanity. Language, fire, society and even art can all fall under this umbrella.

In many ways, humans exist for tech rather than the opposite. "Tech" in the abstract exists in the collective minds of humanity, and will endure as long as humanity endures, even when individuals perish. When an individual contributes to tech it is passed down through the ages, a small form of immortality.

Everyone will answer differently, but for me, tech is about making life better for the next generation. Maybe that means longer lives or better education, or even perhaps more efficient use of time. This worldview does, for better or worse, mean that some tech is not “good tech” or is more useless than other technology, such as social media apps.

For making money